Speaker Johnson demands firing of federal workers reportedly staging pro-Palestinian walkout

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is calling for the firing of federal workers who are reportedly planning to walk out on their jobs in protest of U.S. policy on Israel and Gaza.

He suggested the House of Representatives would help ensure that employees who protest on Tuesday are punished.

“Any government worker who walks off the job to protest U.S. support for our ally Israel is ignoring their responsibility and abusing the trust of taxpayers. They deserve to be fired,” Johnson stated on X Sunday.

“Oversight Chairman Comer and I will be working together to ensure that each federal agency initiates appropriate disciplinary proceedings against any person who walks out on their job.”

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Speaker Mike Johnson called for the firing of government employees who walk out on the job in a pro-Gaza protest. (Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the House Oversight Committee for further comment. 

Johnson was responding to a report by Middle East-focused outlet Al-Monitor that said hundreds of federal employees from 22 government agencies pledged to participate in a walkout on Tuesday. 

The group reportedly staging the protest, Feds United for Peace, is doing so in opposition to the Biden administration’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas. It’s reportedly advertising the event as a “Day of Mourning” to mark 100 days since Israel’s invasion of Gaza began.

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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators during the March on Washington for Gaza rally in front of the White House on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital found an Instagram account called “Feds United for Peace” advertising a “Day of Mourning” for Gaza on Jan. 16. 

According to one post, they label themselves “a group of federal employees representing a range of federal agencies who believe it is our patriotic duty and moral imperative to urge our government to support calls for a ceasefire, and support humanitarian aid and access for Gaza.”

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The issue of Israel has been driving a wedge between establishment Democrats and hardline leftists since Hamas militants invaded the country on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said that more than 24,000 people have been killed so far in Israel’s response.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer will also be part of cracking down on the government worker walkout. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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U.S. participation in the conflict escalated last week when it partnered with the U.K. to lead a coalition air attack on Houthi positions in Yemen.

Progressives like Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Cori Bush, D-Mo., blasted the Biden administration for skirting Congress for the bombings.